The present invention relates to a tensioning apparatus having at least one basic body and at least one tensioning lever which is arranged so as to be pivotable on the basic body, wherein at least two basic body clamping bodies, which interact with one another for releasably clamping a strap on the basic body, are arranged on the basic body and at least one tensioning lever clamping apparatus is arranged on the tensioning lever for releasably clamping the strap on the tensioning lever and at least one of the basic body clamping bodies is mounted on the basic body so as to be movable, preferably pivotable.
The most varied tensioning apparatuses are used in the prior art for tensioning a belt or a tensioning strap and holding it in the tensioned state. They are used, for example, for fastening loads on or to vehicles. However, they can also be used, for example, whenever straps or tensioning straps have to be lengthened or connected together.
The most varied tensioning apparatuses are known in the prior art for tensioning straps. Widely used are so-called ratchet systems where the strap is pushed through a slot in a tensioning bolt and the tensioning bolt is then rotated by means of a tensioning lever and a ratchet mechanism until the strap is tensioned by being wound on the tensioning bolt. Using these tensioning apparatuses which are known per se it is certainly possible to achieve high tensile forces on the strap, however the operation, as a rule, is not completely trivial. Thus, above all, there are problems when too much strap is wound onto the tensioning bolt before the strap is sufficiently tensioned. In addition, relieving the tension of such a tensioning apparatus is often difficult.
In order to eliminate the problem where the strap is wound too much onto the tensioning bolt, generic tensioning apparatus are already known where the strap is able to be tensioned in a quasi endless manner by the tensioning lever being correspondingly actuated. An example of a generic tensioning apparatus can be found in DE 29 28 028 A1.
Where the tensioning operation is by means of pivoting the tensioning lever, in the case of said generic tensioning apparatuses known in the prior art the strap has to be tensioned between the tensioning lever clamping apparatus and the basic body clamping bodies so strongly initially that the basic body clamping bodies are pivoted and release the strap to be pulled through between them. Before the basic body clamping bodies release the strap for further tensioning, in the extensively tensioned state of the strap and where the forces are correspondingly high, this can result in considerable longitudinal expansion of the strap between the still closed basic body clamping bodies and the tensioning lever clamping apparatus. As a result, when the tensioning lever executes a pivoting stroke, relatively little strap is pulled through between the basic body clamping bodies since part of the pivoting movement of the tensioning lever is needed just for stretching the strap between the basic body clamping bodies and the tensioning lever clamping apparatus and does not bring about any strap movement.